HH: We begin this hour with Dr. Ben Carson, the retired head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins hospital. He’s the author most recently of One Nation. He’s the electrifying speaker out on the circuit. He is also the author of a brand new free e-book. It’s free if you text the words, OneHewitt to 67076 right now, and I just tweeted that out. Dr. Carson, welcome to the program, it’s great to have you.

BC: Thank you, very good to be with you.

HH: Tell us about One Vote Book. What is this about? And what did you write it for? And why are you giving it away?

BC: Well, you know, there’s a large number of people, the majority of people in this country who feel that we’re moving in the wrong direction. And so many people have given up, In fact, in the 2012 election, 93 million people did not vote who were registered, who were eligible to vote. And that’s more votes than either of the candidates got. And I want people to understand what went into getting that vote for each one of them, and that this is not something that should be taken lightly, because we actually do, we the people do have the ability to dictate and to change the direction of our nation if we don’t like it. But we can only do that if we are informed. And that’s part of the problem. The fathers of our nation said that our freedom and our system of government is based upon a well-informed and educated populace. If they ever become other than that, the nature of the country will rapidly change. And they knew that would be the case, because people would not be able to accurately assess what they were being told. And this is what’s going on right now. But this book was written in an attempt to stop that cold in its tracks.

HH: Well, you can get a free copy, America. Again, just text OneHewitt to 67076, and you can follow the hashtag #onevotebook on Twitter as well, as well as Dr. Carson @RealBenCarson on Twitter. Dr. Carson, in your book, One Nation, you spend three or four pages talking about religious bigotry. And I want to start our conversation with a story that began to develop on Friday. Out here in California, the California State University, which has 23 campuses, issued an order from its chancellor, Charles Reed, delegitimizing, derecognizing Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, which has been around since 1938. There are a thousand chapters across the country, and they’ve been kicked out of the official Cal State University system as of last week. What do you make of that?

BC: Well, it’s interesting that they would pick on the Christian organization. I doubt that they would kick out a Muslim organization. The political correctness here is obviously something that is very, very destructive. And I encourage people to speak out heavily against this, not only speak about against it, you know, use your financial means and any influence you have, because one of the basic freedoms of America was freedom of religion. And if we’re willing to throw that one away, believe me, we’re going to be throwing away all the others one after another.

HH: Now the chancellor said look, no campus shall recognize any fraternity, sorority, living group, honor society or any student organization that discriminates on the basis of race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, color, age, gender, marital status, citizenship, sexual orientation or disability. On the other hand, obviously sororities discriminate on the basis of gender. And a Christian group that allows non-Christians to lead it isn’t really a Christian group. Do you think this is a focused effort to drive Christianity off campus?

BC: Of course, it is. It’s absolutely absurd. You know, why would you, for instance, have a giant lead a group that was for the rights of short people?

HH: Yeah.

BC: I mean, it doesn’t make any sense.

HH: And so would you come out and debate Charles Reed, the chancellor, if he wanted to debate the ethics of this action?

BC: Happily. I would be delighted to…I’m always delighted to debate progressives, because for the most part, they don’t have very good solid foundations for their arguments. And they try to change the subject or attack you personally. I’m quite used to dealing with that. And I want everybody to understand, because what you need to simply say to them is now that you’ve completed your gratuitous attack, can we get back to the subject? Oh, they hate it when you do that.

HH: Now I know you like debating. And so the question arises. Will we be seeing you on the presidential debate circuit next year that will begin, that the Republicans are organizing for those who want the nomination of the party?

BC: I think the chances are reasonably good of that happening. I’m waiting, you know, obviously, for a few more months. I want to make sure that it’s clearly something my fellow Americans want me to do. And I’m also waiting to see what the results are in November, because if the people indicate that they truly do want a nation that is for, of and by the people, then I, along with I hope many other people, would be willing to give it everything we possibly have.

HH: Now that’s going to be a crowded stage. It’s going to be 10, 12, maybe even 14 people up there. Do you expect to be able to make any headway against such experienced debaters as Ted Cruz? He’s won nine Supreme Court cases. Or Marco Rubio, or Rand Paul? These are, and you’ve governors like Scott Walker and Rick Perry and Chris Christie. You feel like you’ve got the experience you need to debate political heavyweights that experienced?

BC: I’ve been talking all of my life. And I will continue to talk. You know, I will never be a politician. I will tell you that right of the bat.

HH: Now on Page 45 of One Nation, you took out after isolationist policies. And right now, we’re sending 3,000 Americans to Africa to contain Ebola. First of all, is that a good idea, in your mind? And second, is that isolationist policy, was that aimed at Rand Paul?

BC: Well, no, it wasn’t aimed at Rand Paul at all. If you look back through our history, you know, we were quite isolationist – Wilson and his secretary of State, William Jennings Bryant, all these guys, don’t get involved, don’t do anything until we were pretty much dragged into it. The same thing happened with World War II after Pearl Harbor. But we need to recognize that there is a responsibility that goes with strength, and that goes with position and leadership. And if we don’t exercise it, someone else will. And we don’t really want another nation at the pinnacle of the world that is not as benign as we are. We’ll go back to the same kind of world we used to have before.

HH: So is it a good thing to send Americans to Africa to combat Ebola?

BC: Well, I certainly think we should be doing everything we can to combat it. I was not very much in favor of bringing infected people here, because exposing our population to it through some accident could be a real disaster.

HH: Did you think we have the adequate safeguards in place, though, at CDC in Atlanta to protect the two American missionaries who came back?

BC: I think they had very good protocol. The problem is people. It’s not the protocols. It’s people. People make mistakes. That’s when you get a disaster.

HH: Now talking about Ebola generally, how worried are you at the number of cases in the R Ought Factor, which means it’s doubling its transmission from every victim, they infect two more?

BC: I think it’s an incredibly serious problem. And you know, we should be doing what we can to lend a hand to containing. But more important, finding something that is effective to treat it and an effective vaccination, because if we don’t, it’s going to be over here soon.

HH: Now let me finish by going back to those debates. You said there’s a very good chance you’re going to run for president and be in those debates. What is the outside date for you making that formal? Do you think you have to do that in December or January?

BC: I think certainly before May of next year.

HH: That’s pretty late, isn’t it, Dr. Carson?

BC: No, no. I have a lot of consultants. One of the things I’ve learned is you need to talk to a lot of people. The Bible says in the multitude of consulars is safety, and you look at historical things, and you make sure you have all your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed, and we’re doing that.

HH: But you’re also a very straight shooter. And as of right now, you fully expect to be in this hunt and to be on those stages?

BC: Unless the American people indicate in November that they like big government intervention in every part of their lives, I think the likelihood is strong.

HH: And of that, who’s going to be the base Ben Carson primary voter? Who is that individual?

BC: I hope it’s going to be that individual who loves America, who understands that we should place the Constitution on the top shelf, that we should not pick and choose who the winners and losers are in our society, and that we shouldn’t pick and choose which laws we want to enforce, and those people who understand that the person who has the most to do with what happens to you in life is you.

HH: Ben Carson, you’re not worried about rookie mistakes?

BC: You can spend a lot of time worrying about mistakes. I believe in preparation.

HH: I’ll bet you do.

BC: And that’s how my surgical career went. I prepared. And a lot of the times, there were situations where people say this has never been done before. So what?

HH: Dr. Ben Carson, it’s a pleasure. Come back early and often, and I remind everyone if they want his free, new e-book, One Vote, simply text the words OneHewitt, no space, OneHewitt to the number 67076. You’ll get it. Thank you, Ben Carson. Follow him @RealBenCarson on Twitter, #OneVoteBook.